He left the UK and moved to Canada in 2016, where he realised his money habits had to change. Now we want immediate customer service through social media chat, intuitive insight dashboards on our spending, fee-free international withdrawals and round-up features that sweep up loose change and dump it into our saving goals. So let’s start by looking at the focus that each Challenger decided to have as far as channels go. A month of using Starling has totally switched me over, figuratively, and literally. No Monday morning alarm, no boss, no stress. Challenger banking apps often look like the social media platforms, which younger generations are so used to interacting with on a daily basis. So the top 3 Functionality categories in which each Bank scores the highest in terms of UX are the following: Something very odd happens when we look at the UX offered for each channel. I am going to start this analysis as I mentioned above, from a higher level of information, and drill down to the lowest level of detail that I can reach, thanks to. Accounts - Monzo UX score does not fall under 800 for all User Journeys. By Sabrina Weiss. The comparisons, for the most part, are about their transaction fees, whether they offer costly international card transactions or not, or their interest rates on their savings accounts. Any issues have been resolved instantly in a chat, they listen to customer ideas from their Q&As on social media, new features get released with regularity and their insights dashboard is easy to interpret and looks professional. Originally, Monzo offered a contactless prepaid Mastercard linked to its smartphone app but existing users have all been upgraded to a Monzo current account. Challenger banks Monzo and Starling have scooped the top spots in the latest bank apps poll from MoneySavingExpert, with traditional banks left playing catch-up. For example, when it comes to Starling we can clearly see that they have focused heavily on Money Transfers (50 Functionalities), Accounts (39 Functionalities) and Cards(36 Functionalities). 7. share. The world of fintech has brought about a revolution in banking, with digital challenger banks such as Monzo and Starling leading the way with their app-based current accounts, along with Revolut, Monese and the now defunct N26. We are going to start from a higher level of analysis, and move further to unveil the different layers of their digital banking. Cards - Blocking/Unblocking your Debit Card is actually better implemented in Monzo than Starling. I will start by benchmarking these both Challenger Banks in the Market. There are many things money can buy, but the most valuable is freedom. So based on this, I decided to run another comparison, like the one I had made for Revolut vs N26, but focusing on the Features and UX one is able to find in Starling and Monzo. Monzo said it had 3 million customers in September 2019 and Starling said it had 1 million customers in October 2019. Are you staying up to date with the innovation in digital banking that is going on around the world? Fun fact: it takes 4 clicks (yes, 4 clicks) in FinTech Insights to compare any Bank/fintech with any other Bank/fintech. But below you may find a list with the most prominent ones, which I think are worth for each Bank adding into their digital banking. Are you getting quality analytical information, or is your information restrained to what your co-worker knows about a Bank because they happen to have an account at another Bank? 3. share. Not that long ago, Starling also introduced their digital banking for the Web. The second account I looked at was with Starling, another app based UK bank with a lot of the same features as Monzo.You still have real time notifications, savings goals, spending summaries, Apple or Android pay, bill splitting and … In this Market I will be also adding the following players : Lloyds Bank, Santander, Revolut, Monese and bunq, since they are Banks either based in the UK, or active in the UK. level 2. Then we will give our verdict of which is the best mobile banking app. Starling’s secret weapon is arguably the features available for customers travelling overseas. PFM - While Starling achieves pretty high UX scores in most User Journeys, they do score pretty low (for a Challenger Bank) when it comes to the User Journey where a customer wants to set a savings goal. It’s only £200. And for the most part, customers are used to making decisions on who their primary bank is going to be based on such criteria. Setup by Anne Boden in 2014, the banking stalwart has had extensive experience working for Lloyds, Standard Chartered and RBS but she knew the industry needed revolutionising (she’s written a book on it, if you’re interested). Monzo and Starling rose to fame and popularity with their new banking features – slick apps, free spending abroad and real-time transactions are just a few of the favourites. Report Save. The channel at which they focus on, is not that much indicative though. You can see the product live in action and perform your own comparisons as well. Challenger banking apps often look like the social media platforms, which younger generations are so used to interacting with on a daily basis. I have previously talked about how, using FinTech Insights, I was able to objectively compare the UX offered between several Banks - no matter their nature. Much simpler and much more secure. And this happens for almost every category, from Online Account Opening, to Accounts, Cards and PFM User Journeys. The app for Starling is okay but their lack of web interface is … Since then they’ve got over 4 million people on-board across their current, joint, business and 16-17 accounts. Benefits include; unlimited fee-free ATM withdrawals cash (although the foreign provider may still charge), live Mastercard exchange rates which will immediately convert to GBP when you make a transaction or withdrawal abroad, 24/7 support regardless of your time zone and the ability to immediately lock your card if it’s lost or stolen. Monzo allows you to finish a money transfer, and authenticate yourself, via using your biometric authentication e.g FaceID, TouchID. The Starling Marketplace allows customers to in-app access to a curated selection of third party financial services. Your browser does not support the video tag. We know that both started as mobile only banks, so both of them originally focused on having the most Functionalities in their mobile applications. Here I’ll take a look at their personal account. IBAN and wire transfers – Only Starling’s business accounts come with their own IBAN for international transfers. Challenger banks Monzo and Starling have scooped the top spots in the latest bank apps poll from MoneySavingExpert, with traditional banks left playing catch-up. I’ve heard equally positive things from friends who use Monzo, so like anything you read here, do your own research first. Here you’ll find a one-stop-shop for a range of financial products from partners specialising in mortgages, pensions, insurance, loyalty schemes, investments and more. Starling comes out on top for the day to day. Register to get a FREE 'How to Manage Your Money in a Global Pandemic' e-Book! Expectations have evolved. The points below relate to their current account. Or the trust that they have for each financial institution. We’re on a mission to change banking for good. And while both banks offer support via telephone, Monzo certainly do their best to push customers to in-app chat first, whereas Starling Bank encourage customers to call for more complex queries. Accounts - Starling users are lucky because they can very easily close a savings account (with or without remaining balance). I was able to make this comparison within minutes, and got all the data from FinTech Insights. Open new Term Account, Open Joint LCY Savings Account, Search Account’s transactions via various filters (tags, money amount, date range), Virtual Cards (Issuing a new one, Management). Overall Monzo provides a bit of a higher score for UX, when it comes to the mobile devices than the UX score of Starling. Whatever you look for in a bank, check out Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert page that has loads of information about what banks in the UK offer new customers. , but focusing on the Features and UX one is able to find in Starling and Monzo. All in all, it’s a really, really close call and you’ll probably have an excellent banking experience with either of them – so you could always try both and get a feel for both apps! Mobile/Gadget Insurance, Loan applications, Transaction splits (request, approve, reject), Edit the accounts with which your Debit Card is linked. As you can see they share a big percentage of these Functionalities together. Revolut’s Nikolay Storonsky is more product-focused, releasing a new feature every few weeks.Storonsky’s background in trading stock and shares, which shows where Revolut has expanded beyond the normal banking services, including commission-free stock trading, crypto-trading and gold and silver buying and selling facilities. Monzo also added a scheduled pay to pots feature in 2018, which Starling refer to as PiggyBanking. Maybe Starling or Monzo aren’t right for you? Other competitors in the UK space include Monese, Revolut, N26 and bunq. Mainly because of the feud between Anne Boden and Tom Blomfield, but nonetheless these two Challengers have been involved in heated debates for a while. Monzo offer similar functionality to Starling for people using their card abroad. By Rich Martin. For the better. So this time I just focused on Monzo and Starling and saw where they offered the best UX and which implementations stood out. Both firms reported numbers of users broadly at a midpoint of the second half of 2020. The Monzo app is more colourful and fun, but if you often travel abroad, Starling gets the upper hand because of its higher foreign ATM limit. However, they charge a 3% fee for everything withdrawn over £200 a month. The App for Starling is great too. Within Starling, if you have a bill due you need to remember to go into the app and move money from the pot into the main everyday spending area. Challenger banking apps often look like the social media platforms, which younger generations are so used to interacting with on a daily basis. Both apps take a chat-first approach to customer service, via a customer service tab. Since both are heavily focused on the mobile devices, it makes sense for me to focus on their iOS and Android applications and explore the UX offered in each of them. Another cool feature is the ‘travel report’ which welcomes you home and summarises how much you spent on your trip. Luckily, one more click into these graphs and we can expand to another layer of information, which shows us how they have distributed these functionalities amongst the standard digital banking categories. Report Save. Overdraft. The difference is s smidge, but still; differences lie in the smallest of details. ) Voted Best British Bank, Best Current Account Provider and Best Business Banking Provider at the 2020 British Bank Awards, Starling is the financial control centre that lives on your phone. For the sake of transparency, I have been banking with Starling since 2018. The most prominent Functionalities that they share for each category are: Money Transfers (Shared Functionalities 25): Now let’s focus on their UX. Alternatively, enter your mobile number in the box below and we’ll send you a text with a link to download the app. Here is the information we can find by running this comparison: Of course these are actually quite a lot as you can see from the graph. Bitcoin value ‘increasingly understood’ by Millennials, Frugal Living Tips to Recession-Proof Your Money, Financial Independence Books You Should Read, Lockdown Hits Millennials and Gen Z ‘Hardest’, Marcus Savings Account Closed to New Customers. Open Banking features (Adding accounts, Viewing details of accounts) - sidenote, Monzo offers these Open Banking features in the Monzo Plus account they offer, not the standard account. Having said that, it is very interesting to see how many features they share in common for each of these categories. In this article, we compare the 3 platforms and talk about their pros, cons, and who they are best suited for. likes to analyse digital banking offering - starting from a panoramic view and reaching the lowest level of detailed analysis possible. Starling Bank vs. Monzo: A Review By Harry Peach April 14, 2020. There’s been a heart vs. head discussion around these banks online. Revolut vs Monzo vs Starling: the verdict. As you can see the Banks are positioned in the Marked based on two parameters: The number of Functionalities they offer (across all channels), and the UX they offer (again, across all channels). Monzo seems more attractive somehow, but Starling actually has more features. As far as Monzo is concerned, they seem to be focusing on - well the same - Accounts (55 Functionalities) (e.g Features around Current Accounts, Savings Accounts and Fixed Term accounts), Cards(38 Functionalities and on Money Transfers(35 Functionalities). No such luck with Starling who when I got in touch with their support just made incredible unhelpful requests and suggestions. Since being granted a banking licence in July 2016, Starling now have over a million active accounts across their four offerings; personal, joint, business and euro. Kind of how. Revolut vs Monzo: App features and reviews Both Revolut and Monzo offer very similar features within their apps. Features that they are missing (in comparison to Monzo) - worth adding. This is the interest over time of the term “Starling vs Monzo” googled in the UK. Monzo on the other hand makes an in app request. They have to yet encompass the entire range of features they offer in their mobile devices, but it is a good start. All three companies provide in-app saving mechanisms and interest-bearing accounts. ... Here’s a short video walking you through the Starling bank app. Monzo is still focusing on their mobile channels, continuously adding new features. Download the Starling Bank app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and follow the steps in-app to apply for an account in minutes. In a two year period, Revolut, Starling and Monzo (Mondo at the time) were launched, with an aim to win customers through better mobile experiences. in FinTech Insights to compare any Bank/fintech with any other Bank/fintech. Starling users can issue a Debit Card in the name of a third person. In case of loss, freezing them is easy and fast, just access the app … and press a button. You can see the product live in action and perform your own comparisons as well here, Battle of the Challengers: Starling vs Monzo, So based on this, I decided to run another comparison, like the one I had made for. Phone Number. Monzo vs Revolut vs Starling Bank: An Overview Monzo Monzo’s app was downloaded around 2.4 million times, meanwhile, Starling Bank’s app recorded 1.3 million downloads. 6 1 year ago. Here’s a short video walking you through the Starling bank app. Starling is a leading digital bank, founded in 2014 and voted Best British Bank in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Or is your news feed covering only news from your region, and you are unaware of what is going on in the rest of the world. Listen to this though, younger generations are more prone to trying out new banking apps and challenger banks in general, in order to find the one that will make banking accessible, understandable and most importantly easy to use! Two factors of focus for this comparison: We are going to start from a higher level of analysis, and move further to unveil the different layers of their digital banking. Starling prompts you to write your password (most specifically they prompt you to do so when you add a new beneficiary in order to use it for a money transfer). 1 year ago. Revolut’s relatively high number may be attributed to … Harry Peach is a personal finance writer and money blogger. Monzo and Starling have also been able to take advantage of Apple Pay and Google Pay, so you can use an app and just your phone to manage your entire bank account and make purchases. Materialism and instant gratification has consumed us, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Once you’re all set up as a Starling account holder and open the app, you will see immediately what you’re going to be looking for 90% of the time – your account balance. So based on this, I decided to run another comparison, like the one I had made for Revolut vs N26 , but focusing on the Features and UX one is able to find in Starling and Monzo. Well in both cases, in order to become competitive, digital banking teams, from product development and UX, to board members, need to be able to understand the competitive landscape. Also, it is worth stating Monzo and Starling (the only two neo banks in data) have a different number of customers to each other. The two disruptive heavyweights bursting on the scene and capturing the imagination of modern millennials. This personal finance blog is written specifically to help Millennials understand basic financial education. Looking ahead, Monzo have their sights on cracking the US, with offices already set up in the city of sin, Las Vegas. Tom Blomfield was the brains behind Monzo‘s 2015 inception but not before a stint as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Starling Bank. ✅ Immediately cancel your card if lost or stolen✅ Round-up change straight to a designated savings goal✅ Deposit cheques of up to £500 straight in your account✅ Create ‘goals’ and visualise bigger purchases you’re saving for✅ Instant notifications when money enters or leaves your account✅ Spending insights broken down by category/merchant✅ Download custom bank statements within seconds✅ Split-the-bill and IOU facilities to streamline ‘settling up’. Consumers no longer want the inconvenience of going into a branch, queuing for a teller to deposit cash into their account. Do you really know what your competition is offering this Card, and got all data. A mission to change banking for good when abroad look like the social platforms. Heavyweights bursting on the other hand makes an in app request potential,. 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